Irene Dunne

Irene Dunne Was An American Film Actress And Singer Of The 1930s 1940s And Early 1950s. She Was Born Irene Marie Dunn On December 20 1898 In Louisville Kentucky. She Was The Daughter Of Joseph Dunn Who Inspected Steamships And Adelaide Henry A Musician Who Prompted Irene In The Arts. Her First Production Was In Louisville When She Appeared In "A Midsummer Night's Dream" At The Age Of Five. Her "debut" Set The Tone For A Fabulous Career. Following The Tragic Death Of Her Father When She Was 12 She Moved With Her Remaining Family To The Picturesque And Historic Town Of Madison Indiana To Live With Her Maternal Grandparents At 916 W. Second St. During The Next Few Years Irene Studied Voice And Took Piano Lessons In Town. She Was Able To Earn Money Singing In The Christ Episcopal Church Choir On Sundays. After Graduating From Madison High School In 1916 She Studied Until 1917 In A Music Conservatory In Indianapolis. After That She Accepted A Teaching Post As A Music And Art Instructor In East Chicago Indiana Just A Stone's Throw From Chicago. She Never Made It To The School. While On Her Way To East Chicago She Saw A Newspaper Ad In The Indianapolis Star And News For An Annual Scholarship Contest Run By The Chicago Music College. Irene Won The Contest Which Enabled Her To Study There For A Year. After That She Headed For New York City Because It Was Still The Entertainment Capital Of The World. Her First Goal In New York Was To Add Her Name To The List Of Luminaries Of The Metropolitan Opera Company. Her Audition Did Her Little Good As She Was Rejected For Being Too Young And Inexperienced. She Did Win The Leading Role In A Road Theater Company Which Was In Turn Followed By Numerous Plays. During This Time She Studied At The Chicago Music College From Which She Graduated With High Honors In 1926. In 1928 Irene Met And Married A Promising Young Dentist From New York Named Francis Dennis Griffin. She Remained With Dr. Griffin Until His Death In 1965. Irene Came To The Attention Of Hollywood When She Performed In "Show Boat" On The East Coast. By 1930 She Was Under Contract To RKO Pictures. Her First Film Was Leathernecking 1930 Which Went Almost Unnoticed. In 1931 She Appeared In Cimarron 1931 For Which She Received The First Of Five Academy Award Nominations. No Other Woman 1933 And Ann Vickers 1933 The Same Year Followed. In 1936 Due To Her Comic Skits In Show Boat 1936 She Was "persuaded" To Star In A Comedy Up To That Time A Medium For Which She Had Small Affection. However Theodora Goes Wild 1936 Was An Instant Hit Almost As Popular As The More Famous It Happened One Night 1934 From Two Years Before. From This She Earned Her Second Academy Award Nomination. Later In 1937 She Was Teamed With Cary Grant In The Awful Truth 1937 . This Helped Her Garner A Third Academy Award Nomination. She Starred With Grant Later In My Favorite Wife 1940 And Penny Serenade 1941 . Her Favorite Film Was Love Affair 1939 With Charles Boyer A Huge Hit In A Year With So Many Great Films And A Role For Which She Was Again Nominated For An Academy Award. Howevever It Was The Tear-Jerker I Remember Mama 1948 For Which She Will Be Best Remembered In The Role Of The Loving Self-Sacrificing Norwegian Mother. She Got Another Nomination For That But Again Lost. This Was The Picture In Which She Should Have Won The Oscar. She Began To Wean Herself Away From Films Toward The Many Charities And Public Works She Championed. Her Last Major Movie Was As Polly Baxter In 1952's It Grows On Trees 1952 . After That She Only Appeared As A Guest On Television. Irene Knew Enough To Quit While She Was Ahead Of The Game And This Helped Keep Her Legacy Intact. In 1957 She Was Appointed As A Special US Delegate To The United Nations During The 12th General Assembly By President Dwight D. Eisenhower Such Was Her Widespread Appeal. The Remainder Of Her Life Was Spent On Civic Causes. She Even Donated $10 000 To The Restoration Of The Town Fountain In Her Girlhood Home Of Madison Indiana In 1976 Even Though She Had Not Been There Since 1938 When She Came Home For A Visit. She Died Of Heart Failure On September 4 1990 In Los Angeles California. read less